1 Kings 8:29 (DRB)

Passage

That thy eyes may be open upon this house, night and day: upon the house of which thou hast said: My name shall be there: that thou mayst hearken to the prayer which thy servant prayeth, in this place to thee:

Nearby Context

1 Kings 8:27 Is it then to be thought that God should indeed dwell upon earth? for if heaven, and the heavens of heavens, cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built?

1 Kings 8:28 But have regard to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, O Lord, my God: hear the hymn and the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee this day:

1 Kings 8:29 That thy eyes may be open upon this house, night and day: upon the house of which thou hast said: My name shall be there: that thou mayst hearken to the prayer which thy servant prayeth, in this place to thee:

1 Kings 8:30 That thou mayst hearken to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, whatsoever they shall pray for in this place, and hear them in the place of thy dwelling in heaven; and when thou hearest, shew them mercy.

1 Kings 8:31 If any man trespass against his neighbour, and have an oath upon him, wherewith he is bound, and come, because of the oath, before thy altar, to thy house,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "eyes", "open", "upon", "house", "night", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "eyes" and "open", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 28's "But have regard to the prayer of..." into verse 30's "That thou mayst hearken to the supplication...", so "eyes" and "open" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "eyes" and "open" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.